


The Nightingale and the Lark

by paradiamond



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Oral Sex, Peggy telling John what to do, cuteness to porn and back, gratuitous use of Shakespeare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-24
Updated: 2015-05-24
Packaged: 2018-04-01 01:31:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4000834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paradiamond/pseuds/paradiamond
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peggy wakes up next to John and they enjoy their brief moment together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Nightingale and the Lark

Peggy wakes to the sound of John humming a soft, nameless tune. 

She blinks her eyes open in the dim light and finds herself facing away from him, tangled up in the sheets like a wild thing, one of his arms looped around her shoulder to be caught up in her own, his hand resting over her ribs. Peggy takes a moment to simple feel the leftover sensations of her body and the contentment of her mind before trying to do anything else. Waking more fully, she starts to shift and stretch and he tightens his grip to pull her closer, her back pressed up against his side. 

Amused, she turns her head to see him sitting up and staring off into space, brow furrowed. She feels her lips turn up at the corners of their own accord. “What are you doing?” 

He glances down at her. “Plotting,” John answers, so seriously she has to giggle. 

“And humming.” Peggy lets go of his arm and rolls, placing herself half on top of him, her left breast pressed against his side. He shifts his grips as she moves and settles his arm around her back this time, still holding her against him. She smiles, thinking about how strange it still is to be so naked around him, and how thrilling. 

John huffs a laugh once she’s settled, the soft hidden lines of his face making a brief appearance when he smiles. “Was I?” 

“Yes, but don’t worry it was very soothing.” Peggy reaches around his waist to run her fingers along the curve of his ribs. “I’m not surprised you didn’t notice though, you seemed to be plotting very intently.” 

“I was.” 

“About what at…” She turns her head slightly to check the window. “What must be the middle of the night?” 

“I think it’s getting to the end of the night.” He glances down at her, not smiling. “And I was making plans about how to spirit you away, to make you mine.” 

A thrill runs through her but she tries to play it down. “Oh really?” 

John meets her eyes. “Yes.” He’s clearly serious. 

Peggy’s heart starts beating faster and she wonders if he can feel it, close as they are. Of course it had been implied that he would marry her, but this was the first time he had openly spoken of it. “I would like that very much.” 

John’s eyebrows shoot up and he regains some of his normal disposition. “Oh would you?” 

She shrugs to feign a casual demeanor, but she can’t quite contain her smile. “Perhaps. How do you suppose we would we do it?”

He slides down further on the bed, putting himself more at her level. “Mm, I haven’t finished plotting about it yet.” 

“Oh dear,” Peggy says breathily. Now face to face, her heart rate picks up even more. 

John pulls her even closer. “Maybe I need you to help me.” 

That makes her laugh. “I doubt that.” 

“Oh I don’t know.” He leans down farther to press a light kiss to her cheek. “Marriage is a partnership after all.” 

She bites her lip, willing herself not to cry or otherwise embarrass herself. “Like proper spies.” 

He makes a face. “Yes. But just for now, just until it’s over.” 

Peggy smiles, charmed in spite of herself. “Alright then, when should we start our joint plotting?” 

“Later.” John sits up and moves to kiss her again, this time on the other side, but she turns her head at the last moment and brushes her lips against his, pleased to be taking him by surprise for a change. He starts to lean away, mirth glittering in his eyes, but she catches him by the braid and gives it a gentle tug. 

“Where do you think you’re going Major?” Peggy asks, grinning now. 

John licks his lips and comes back to her, taking hold of her hips to pull her more fully under him and settling on top. “Oh I’m terribly sorry.” 

“You should be.” She teases, still twirling his braid around her finger. She wraps one of her legs around his hip to hold him down. “It seems I’ve captured a spy.” 

John raises an eyebrow at her. “Oh dear. What will you do with me now?” he asks, mischief evident in his tone. 

She lets go of his braid. “Well, I think you owe me a kiss.” Peggy blinks up at him, exuding the innocence she had spent a lifetime perfecting. It must work because his smile takes on a wicked edge. 

“As my lady commands,” he says, leaning down to capture her lips again, but she raises a finger to his lips. He freezes, looking to her for an explanation. 

“That’s not where I meant,” she informs him quietly, still amazed at her own boldness even after so many times together. But she had quickly learned that John loved her bold, and she loved that he took so much pleasure from giving it to her. John lets out a shaky breath.

“I see.” He casts a glance down at her body that Peggy would swear she could _feel_ and she shivers. When he looks back up his eyes are impossibly dark, his pupils blown wide. “I love you.”

Peggy reaches up to brush his hair from his eyes. “That’s good, considering how much I love you too.” 

John grins and ducks his head to press a kiss to the underside of her jaw before she can think to do anything about it. Deciding to willingly give up a measure of control for now, she sighs and tilts her head back as he proceeds along her jaw, pressing soft kisses and softer bites as he goes. She lets her leg slip from around his waist and arches her back. Peggy lets her eyes slide shut as her moves, letting herself go into the feeling of everything like John had told her the first time he touched her. So much had changed since then but Peggy can’t bring herself to regret any of it. 

“I love this too,” John says before he trails his lips along the top curve of her breast. 

She giggles, opening her eyes. “I’m sure you do.” 

He glances up and narrows his eyes. “I _meant_ your acceptance of pleasure. So many others refuse to let themselves enjoy it. Not you.” 

“Others?” She pokes him in the side sharply and watches him flinch. “You mean to say other women, and I hope you know you don’t have to disguise it, not even poorly. I’m not quite that naive.” 

John busies himself with tracing his fingers lightly over her breast. “True. You top them all though.” 

Peggy rolls her eyes. “Oh I’m sure.” 

“No I mean it.” He bends back down to press a kiss to her breast now, and she sighs, not truly upset. “Besides, I don’t really want to talk about any other women.” 

Peggy snorts, most unladylike but she can hardly call herself a lady now. “Because you would eventually back yourself into a corner by admitting that I’m not objectively the most perfect woman in the world.” 

John looks up, victory gleaming in his eyes. “I wasn’t speaking objectively, I was speaking for myself. Perfection is relative, a personal matter, and I can honestly say that I would chose you above all the others.” He kisses her again, this time on her ribs. “They say love is blind but you have opened my eyes Peggy.” 

“So have you done for me,” she responds, ready to be sincere again. 

He tilts his head, looking absolutely ridiculous perched on his elbows halfway down her body but not seeming to care one whit. “How so?” 

She blushes. “You introduced me to my own body.” 

“Ah.” John laughs. “An easy thing to do really, anyone could have done it.” 

It’s Peggy’s turn to raise her eyebrows at him. “Lucky for you I don’t want just anyone.” 

“Yes extremely lucky,” he murmurs, running his hand down from her ribs to her hip. “You gave me much more than I have given you. If I introduced you to your body, it’s only because you introduced me to my heart first.” 

Peggy thinks she feels her own heart melt. “I don’t think you needed any help with that John.” 

“Didn’t I?” 

“No.” She reaches down and runs her fingers through his hair again, watching his eyes drift shut as she does it. “No soul so musical and full of life could be lacking in heart.” 

John smiles and responds by kissing her again, this time even lower on her hip. He swipes his tongue along the bone, making her shiver. Peggy moves her legs apart to make space for him to settle, no longer feeling shy at all despite how wet she can feel she is now. He avoids touching her more intimately at first as he always does, preferring to draw the sensations out even when Peggy might chose to have him go faster. John is by far the more patient of the two of them, and she learned weeks ago that he takes pride in both his own stamina and in his ability to make her utterly insane with want. 

“Go on,” she urges, trying for a sultry, attractive tone but likely just coming off as desperate. If he liked hearing her beg at all she would try for that but he had never shown an interest in it. John smirks at her efforts but keeps going at his own pace, doing nothing but making her breath harsher and her legs shake with it. She closes her eyes, trying to keep herself relaxed. It’s difficult with the fluttering tension she feels building inside her already. By now she’s used to being so aroused, but it still makes her pant and squirm even when John tries to hold her still. 

Peggy opens her eyes again to see him looking at her, studying her as he might a particularly fascinating letter. He always says he likes looking at her. She bites her lip, anticipation crawling up her spine. John grasps her hip with one hand and exhales, his breath warming the inside of her things, followed closely by his tongue which traces a path from one to the other, barely brushing over her more sensitive spots. He brushes his lips against her even more lightly, teasing her again. Peggy finds herself making a sound like a whine, the sound animalistic and embarrassing but she can’t bring herself to care. John hums in amusement, rubbing his face against the softness of her thigh briefly. Then he leans down to kiss her where she really wants him. 

Her back arches, leaning into him as he closes his lips around that most sensitive spot before moving down much lower, running his tongue along her before coming back up. John stays there for for what feel like ages, thoroughly revisiting well explored paths. Peggy lets her hips move as they will, feeling the natural rhythm they create together as John relentlessly circles his tongue around and around her peak point, driving her mad. 

“Oh, John,” she pants, trying and failing to gather her thoughts enough to say anything else. 

Emboldened by her responses, John takes hold of her right leg by the knee and pushes it farther up, bending it to raise her leg. It gives him much better access, and Peggy moans out loud when he takes advantage, beyond caring about anything other than what’s happening to her right there and then. It feels like what’s happening to her is earth shattering. 

Peggy comes with John’s hands holding her firm by the hips and his tongue buried inside her. She cries out and arches her back, nearly sitting all the way up, pushing herself harder into his face as he continues licking and sucking to keep her at a high for as long as possible. All at once he pulls away and she collapses, boneless, against the bed. Luckily it’s not far to fall, not like the times when she presses him against the bed, her palms flat on his chest and rides him. The memory makes her giggle, feeling giddily and exhausted. 

John crawls back up to her, grinning. “Something funny?” 

“I just felt so overcome, and I remembered the time I almost fell off the bed.” She covers her face with one hand, still giggling. 

He smirks and gathers her up, settling her against his side. “Which one?” 

“Ah!” Peggy gasps, still out of breath, and swats lightly at him. “How dare you, I’m a very graceful-” she cuts off abruptly as he drums his fingers on her ribs lightly, tickling her. 

“What was that Miss Shippen?” he asks, but stops tormenting her. 

“Nothing, nothing.” Peggy regains control of herself but can’t quite stop smiling. She leans against him, trailing her fingers along his chest. “Now, what would you like me to do?” 

“You can give me the kiss that I was promised earlier,” he says, tipping his face down. “That is, if you don’t mind where my mouth has been.” 

She rolls her eyes. “Well I don’t think I have the right to complain, all things considered.” 

John laughs again and slides a hand behind her head and pulls her forward, sealing their lips together. They kiss languidly for several minutes, Peggy finally achieving the boneless contentment she had been chasing after. John swipes his tongue along her bottom lip and she opens her mouth, letting him press inside. Eventually they break apart again, John leaning down to press their foreheads together. 

“What else would you like me to do?” Peggy asks at length, thinking of all the things she would be willing to do. To have sex before marriage, to risk getting caught by her father, to essentially become a spy. It makes her wonder what she wouldn’t do. 

“I’m quite alright,” John says, running the back of his hand along her cheek. “I just wanted to do something for you.” 

She raises an eyebrow at him but takes him at his word. “Well, do make sure you let me know when I can do _something_ for you in return then.” 

He laughs and kisses her again, even more deeply this time. 

When Peggy breaks away she turns back to glance towards the window. The sky was beginning to lighten, not true morning yet, but close enough to be a threat to them. She turns back over and buries her face in John’s arm. “I think I’ll have to go soon, it’s getting light out.” 

John actually growls. “Yes and just like that, all my happiness turns to ash in my mouth.”

Peggy scoffs, amused in spite of herself. “Please don’t be so dramatic about this.” 

“I could be tragic about it instead.” 

“What?” 

“Wilt thou be gone?” John says with a grand sweep of his free arm and Peggy laughs. “It is not yet near day. It was the nightingale, and not the lark, that pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear. Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate tree. Believe me, love, it was the nightingale.” 

Peggy claps briefly. “Are you my Juliet then?” 

“For you? I would be any fair maid,” John says and Peggy giggles, running a finger down his chest. “Well, maybe not a maid.” 

“Does that make me Romeo?” Peggy asks, shifting up higher on the bed to loom over him. “It was the lark, the herald of the morn, no nightingale. Look, love, what envious streaks do lace the severing clouds in yonder east. Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. I must be gone and live, or stay and die,” she puts some emphasis on the last line and moves to get up, but John catches her by the arm and pulls her back down. 

“Don’t.” He kisses her again. “Stay.” 

She snakes her hand up and puts a finger lightly over his mouth. “Shh, listen to your valiant Romeo.” 

John makes a face and shakes her off. “Perhaps not those two after all considering how that story ended.” 

Peggy hums, considering the point. “That’s true, and if we’re picking from Shakespeare I must say I do rather feel like Ferdinand instead.” 

“Why’s that?” John asks, sounding genuinely interested. 

“Well after seeing so many dull gentlemen and grotesque excuses for the same it did seem like I was Ferdinand beholding Miranda for the first time when I finally got to know you.” 

John huffs, annoyance crossing his face. “If only your father was more like Prospero.” 

“That’s true, I suppose he makes us more like Othello and Desdemona.” 

“Fantastic, death again,” John says, beginning to look truly bothered by the thought. 

Peggy strokes his arm. “Yes but not for us, of course. There’s no Iago clever enough to trick you, or me for that matter.” 

“That I can believe,” John says, though his eyes seem far away and he’s still holding her so tightly. 

She frowns at him. “What’s wrong?” 

He glances at her and smiles, but it looks strained. “I don’t think I want to be Juliet or Miranda anymore.”

“But they’re so romantic aren’t they?” she says, trying to lighten the mood. 

John nods, his lovey features marred by frown lines now. “Romantic, short lived. That life I can do without, I think.” His expression transforms with a smile. “It’s exciting yes, but I want to grow to be old and boring. I’d like to just be John, and have you be Peggy Andre.” 

Peggy blinks rapidly, suddenly overcome with how ridiculously in love with him she feels in this moment. She feels free and trapped at the same time. Overwhelmed, she bites her lip and ducks her head back into the crook of his arm but he always notices everything and pulls her back up. He looks alarmed when he sees her tears. 

“I’m sorry I-” 

“No it’s fine, I’m just feeling everything at once it seems,” she says, feeling completely ridiculous. 

John wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her to lay on top of him. “Me too,” he responds, barely loud enough to hear. 

Peggy lays her head down on his chest, listening to his heart. “We will have that one day John.” He grips her tight enough to hurt, but she just winds her arms around him and grips him right back. 

“I believe you.” 

Outside the sun begins to come up and birds are singing. People move through the streets, caught up in their own lives, living through their own personal excitements and tragedies. Somewhere further out the war is being waged, important men make important decisions, and they don’t pay attention to the nightingale and the lark curled up together in peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr if you want :)  
> http://paradiamond.tumblr.com/


End file.
